superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
character originally published by
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...
.
Publication history
Charlton Comics
Created by
Pete Morisi
Peter A. Morisi (January 7, 1928 – October 12, 2003),Peter A. Morisi
, the character debuted in ''Peter Cannon ... Thunderbolt'' #1 (Jan. 1966), part of Charlton editor
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics.
Ear ...
's "Action Heroes" superhero line. The series then took over the numbering of the defunct title ''
Son of Vulcan
Son of Vulcan is the name of two comic book characters, one created by Charlton Comics in 1965, the other by DC Comics in August 2005. Son of Vulcan was one of the characters DC Comics purchased from defunct Charlton Comics in 1983.
Publication ...
'', and ran from issue #51 through #60 (March/April 1966 – November 1967), after which Pete Morisi, who in addition to comic book work was also a
New York City Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
officer, time-pressed with police duties, left the title, which was canceled along with the rest of Charlton's "Action Heroes" comics line.
There were several backup series in ''Thunderbolt''. "The Sentinels", by
Gary Friedrich
Gary Friedrich (; August 21, 1943 – August 29, 2018) was an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics' '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' and in the following era, the series '' The Monster of Fr ...
(writing his first superhero stories) and penciler-inker Sam Grainger, appeared in #54–59, and #60 had the Prankster, written by
Dennis O'Neil
Dennis "Denny" Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until h ...
with art by
Jim Aparo
James N. Aparo (; August 24, 1932 – July 19, 2005) was an American comic book artist, best known for his DC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman, and the Spectre (DC Comics character), Sp ...
.
Morisi, who'd done work for
Lev Gleason Publications
Lev Gleason Incorporated, formerly known as Lev Gleason Publishing, is a Canadian comic book company founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971). They were the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, incl ...
in 1940s, reported in ''
Comic Book Artist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literary ...
'' #9 (August 2000) that he had attempted to buy the rights to 1940s superhero Daredevil in the early 1960s. Gleason gave him his okay, but the character's primary writer-artist,
Charles Biro
Charles Biro (; May 12, 1911 – March 4, 1972) was an American comic book creator and cartoonist. He created the comic book characters Airboy and Steel Sterling, and worked on ''Daredevil (Golden Age), Daredevil Comics'' and ''Crime Does Not Pa ...
, balked, requesting a percentage of future profits. Morisi declined and went on to create Thunderbolt in a scaled-down version of that Daredevil's symmetrically divided, red-and-blue costume.
DC Comics
After Charlton sold its superhero properties to DC in 1983, Thunderbolt reappeared after almost two decades in the ''
Crisis on Infinite Earths
''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...
'' crossover series (April 1985 – March 1986, Thunderbolt appearing in #6, 7, and 10) when he joined the heroes of the
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...
in their crusade against the
Anti-Monitor
The Anti-Monitor is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He served as the main antagonist of the 1985 DC Comics miniseries ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and later appears as an enemy to the Green Lantern Corps ...
.
Introducing him into the new
DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...
, DC published ''Peter Cannon – Thunderbolt'', by writer-
penciler
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations.
In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...
inker
The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production.
After the penciller creates a drawing with pencil, the inker interprets this drawing by outlining and embellishing ...
Jose Marzan Jr. The series ran for 12 issues before cancellation (September 1992 – August 1993). During the series' short run, his recurring foils were the criminal terrorists-for-hire known as Scorpio. He later discovers that his girlfriend Cairo DeFrey was actually in charge of the organization.
The character also appeared briefly with the
Justice League
The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...
.
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded in 2004 by Nick Barrucci in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, known for publishing comic book adaptations of licensed feature film properties, such as ''Army of Darkness'', '' Terminator ...
published a ten issue series between September 2012 and July 2013. The series was co-written by Steve Darnall and
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book creator, comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which ...
, with art by Jonathan Lau.
The character later appeared in a new series published since February 2019, written by
Kieron Gillen
Kieron Michael Gillen (; born 30 September 1975) is a British comic book writer and former video game and music journalist. In comics, Gillen is known for his creator-owned series such as '' Once & Future'' (2019–2022), '' Die'' (2018–202 ...
with art by Caspar Wijngaard, Mary Jo Safro and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. In this series, it is revealed that Peter Cannon and Tabu were lovers.
A new series has been announced in July 2022.
Fictional character biography
His origin, as detailed in the original comic:
Peter Cannon, orphaned son of an American medical team, was raised in a Himalayanlamasery, where his parents had sacrificed their lives combating the dreaded Black Plague! After attaining the highest degree of mental and physical perfection, he was entrusted with the knowledge of the ancient scrolls that bore the secret writings of past generations of wise men! From them he learned concentration, mind over matter, the art of activating and then harnessing the unused portions of the brain, that made seemingly fantastic feats possible! Then he returned to America with his faithful friend, Tabu, and sought out a new life, in a new land, that required the emergence of Peter Cannon... Thunderbolt.
His costume is his training outfit from the lamasery, with an added mask. A recurring villain is the "Hooded One", another monk from the lamasery who resented the fact an outsider like Peter was given access to the sacred scrolls.